Wild Rumpus Founder, Director and Master of Ceremonies Timi Conley stands on stage at the Wild Rumpus on Oct. 28, 2023. Since the second Wild Rumpus in 2010, Conley has picked themes for the parades based on his knowledge of astrology. “This year is year number 16, so we’re actually into the second cycle of (zodiac) signs, we’ve gone all the way,” Conley said. “We’re in a cancer year this year, and that’s why it’s the moon. (This year’s theme is) called Moon Lit.” Photo by Mike White
Wild Rumpus Founder, Director and Master of Ceremonies Timi Conley discusses how the Wild Rumpus parade was created and how it has continued to grow.
News Staffer Abby Holloway: Why did you decide to start the Wild Rumpus?
Wild Rumpus Founder, Director and Master of Ceremonies Timi Conley: (In 2009), I put out a solo album, and a friend of mine in Athens had a small record label and he was releasing it. We were brainstorming ways to promote it, just shooting ideas back and forth and he said, ‘Do a Timi parade,’ and I was like, ‘No, that just sounds way too megalomaniacal.’ I didn’t want to do a Timi parade, but it was fall, and I said, ‘Maybe (we can do) a Halloween parade,’ because I’ve always done Halloween shows with my bands, going back all the way back to college when I was at (the University of Massachusetts). I just called some people and said we were doing it. That first year, it was kind of cold and raining, and I almost didn’t go downtown because I thought it was just going to be a flop. (But), I went and there were hundreds of people ready and the excitement was so high. We did it that year, and after that, it just got bigger and bigger.
AH: The first parade was unofficial, but how did it become an organized event after that?
TC: The first year, the police gave me a ticket because there were so many people blocking traffic. So the second year I said, ‘We have to get permits to do this from the city.’ Then, you have to buy insurance, so I needed a budget. I started to have to get sponsorships from local businesses and rally up some money, and started to benefit a charity. We picked a nonprofit to give some money to and that was the original plan. That’s still the plan, just on a bigger level.
Wild Rumpus Founder, Director and Master of Ceremonies Timi Conley stands on stage at the Wild Rumpus on Oct. 28, 2023. Conley finds it important to incorporate the themes of the Wild Rumpus into his imagery“We base the artwork (around) the theme. Our projections that we’ll do downtown for people (and) postering and everything has the theme on it,” Conley said. “This year is a woman with a moon above her channeling energy into her hands and making this crackly monster in between her hands.” Photo by Mike White
AH: How do you think Wild Rumpus became a staple of Athens culture?
TC: I think there’s just a lot of energy around Halloween (and) people in Athens love to dress up and party, right? The way I think about it, it’s like tapping a keg or opening up the dam of energy for all those people to do something on Halloween. Trick-or-treating goes back a ways, right? But I think everybody, even old people (who) grew up trick-or-treating, still wants to dress up, and a parade just seemed to be something that people love. All those reasons tapped into a big reservoir of Halloween fun. It’s really everybody in Athens that makes it what it is, I’m the organizer, I keep making the opportunity for that energy to express itself.
AH: What is it like planning and leading the parade?
TC: By (the) time (the parade starts), I’m just ready, I’m just thrilled that it’s happening. For me, it’s an entire year of work. You wouldn’t believe the number of emails and texts (I get). Whatever you think it is, multiply it by 10. It’s thousands of emails and texts, working with the money, working with the city, working with the cops, working with all the sponsors (and) then working with me and my friends. But when it’s time for the Rumpus to happen and I blow the conch shell, I’m ready to party. I just have the best time, I love it. I’m all over the place dancing with people in the crowd and running all over.
“I think everybody, even old people (who) grew up trick-or-treating, still wants to dress up, and a parade just seemed to be something that people love. All those reasons tapped into a big reservoir of Halloween fun. It’s really everybody in Athens that makes it what it is”
— Timi Conley,
Wild Rumpus Founder, Director and Master of Ceremonies
AH: What made you decide to start blowing the conch shell to start the parade?
TC: I started doing that the first year. I had (a) shell that belonged to a friend of mine (who) moved out of town. He moved to Hawaii and left a bunch of stuff behind (and I was) like, ‘I want this shell.’ My dad was a huge shell collector. He would take us to Florida every year, and he would disappear all day just hunting shells, so I have this deep feeling for shells. That one just happened to have the tip of it shaved off, and I learned to blow it. It’s perfect because it’s this primal thing, it’s not an electronic sound, there’s something about the Rumpus that has that vibe to it. I think the sound of the shell just goes into your soul.
AH: Why have you continued to be involved in the planning of the parade for this long?
TC: Maybe I would pass it along to somebody (eventually), but at this point, I don’t know who that would be. I have a particular skill set that I’ve learned in the years I’ve done it (and) I don’t think there’s anybody I know that could step in anytime soon. It’s (also) my job. It’s what I do, apart from music and art.
AH: What specific skills do you need to be able to run the parade?
TC: Being able to put on a big party with all these moving parts. I know every aspect of what gets done and how, whether that’s how the staging goes, or the musicians and how the parade all sets up. Then, I have all the connections that I’ve made with all the sponsors (connected) to me personally, so I’m just in the middle of it. There’s a lot of people that help, and they’re wonderful people, (but) I don’t know who will eventually take it over. I don’t foresee myself doing it forever, it’s a hard job.
AH: How do you keep people coming back year after year?
TC: I think it’s just grown by itself and word of mouth because people have such a good time at it. They’ll tell their friends and they’ll tell their family that live in other places so that we get visitors to Athens. There’s tourism. I’ve met people from other countries at the Rumpus. I think it’s just grown organically (by) word of mouth and I don’t have to push it that hard at this point. I just have to make sure the details are out there for when it is and how to show up. After the pandemic, because we couldn’t do one in 2020, I was like, ‘Is anybody gonna show up?’ because our Instagram posts were getting like eight likes. And then it was like, boom, it was huge. So people just know about it, people just know to show up.
